However, when Aristi was barely six years old, her parents mysteriously disappeared while away on extended assignment. In reality, the Jurels were suspected of spying and selling Cardassian military secrets. They were "transferred" to the hidden shipyards of Omeckla III to "work on a new project" and quickly "disappeared" on the Obsidian Order-controlled planet. Soon after, the Order came to take care of the rest of the family, murdering Aristi's siblings, uncles, aunts, cousins, anyone they could find in their large household.

Unbeknownst to the Obsidian Order, Aristi and one of her cousins escaped the house during the massacre. As orphans they were now outcasts, and on top of that the Obsidian Order would come looking for them if they knew their job had not been completed. The pair managed to sneak around the streets of the colony that had been their home, stealing food and anything else they could get their hands on.

Eventually they managed to hop off-world, stowing away on a supply ship which deposited them on Tormon V, near the Cardassian border. Aristi and her cousin became separated on this planet, and Aristi had hopped onto another ship before she could locate her cousin. The ship, a mercenary vessel, deposited her in the Valo system. From here, Aristi made it aboard a Vulcan vessel. However, her presence did not go undetected as it had on the previous two ships; the crew discovered they had a (rather smelly) stowaway on board shortly after departing. Rather than taking her back to Cardassian space the captain decided to drop her off at their next scheduled stop: Dulisian IV. The planet was the site of a Federation colony, and they were far more tolerant of orphaned children than any Cardassian would have been.

It was on Dulisian IV that Aristi first met Abigail Ferguson, who would later become her adoptive mother. Abigail's husband Edan was a civilian geologist who was off studying various phenomena around the planet, while Abigail, an archaeologist with no civilizations or ruins to study on this planet, did a whole lot of nothing in the colony. The colony's leaders didn't really know what to do with an orphaned Cardassian, so they just let young Aristi roam free around the colony. As fate would have it, the bored archaeologist and the bored child eventually ran into each other, and they formed the perfect pair. Abigail soon discovered that Aristi was a very voracious learner, so she began to teach the child anything she could think of, and that included a heavy dose of history and archaeology.

By the time Edan Ferguson returned from his digging and surveying, Abigail was positively in love with her young friend. Edan found the relationship a bit strange, mostly because he had rarely seen Cardassians, much less happy or friendly ones, but he eventually began to take a liking to Aristi as well. And when it came time for the couple to leave Dulisian IV, they of course took Aristi with them.

The three traveled around to various worlds and sites that required the expertise of Edan, Abigail, or both. Aristi spent most of her time during this period being taught by one or both parents, and she began to grow into an outgoing, intelligent girl. In 2356 the Fergusons returned to Earth and their native Scotland, where both Edan and Abigail were professors at the University of Edinburgh. By this point they had decided to formally adopt Aristi, who was officially classified as a refugee for the purposes of the adoption.

Now ten years old, Aristi entered the public education system. She soon proved herself to be an excellent student, both due to her very early education and naturally sharp Cardassian mind. Her fellow students at first found her strange because of her looks (many of them had never seen a Cardassian) but she managed to fit in and make friends once she and her classmates realized they were pretty much the same on the inside.

By the time she hit high school, Aristi was fascinated by Earth's popular culture, and began to experiment with her looks and manner of dress. She became very interested in punk culture, changing her hairstyle and clothing to reflect this and also beginning to venture into the world of body modification, starting with body piercing but eventually moving on to some extensive tattooing as she progressed through college. Her parents were at first concerned by this, but Aristi maintained her top marks in school, and so they were willing to write it off as part of her curiosity towards and exploration of Earth culture.

Aristi graduated high school near the top of her class and was accepted into the University of Edinburgh. Still fascinated by what her mother had taught her as a child, she decided to go into the field of archaeology. She excelled in her university courses, remaining in school until she had obtained a PhD in Archaeology with additional research in the field of Social Anthropology. Soon after graduation, she accepted an opportunity to work on an excavation deep in the Amazon jungle, sad to be leaving her parents for a while but at the same time quite happy to be moving to a much warmer part of the planet.

Aristi very much enjoyed her time in the Amazon, both because it allowed her to put her skills to work and it got her away from civilization. Tensions between the Federation and Cardassian Union were running high and Aristi had definitely begun to feel the repercussions. Rather than confront the prejudice she felt, she figured it would just be easier to disappear into the jungle for a while.

Two years later the war with the Dominion had begun; naturally anti-Cardassian sentiments were at an all-time high. Soon after the war started, Aristi signed up for Starfleet, feeling that it was her duty to help protect the Federation and also to show everyone that not all Cardassians were evil. She passed her entrance exams with flying colors and was admitted to the Academy.

Not really sure which direction to choose, Aristi initially stuck to the core training courses. Her previous experience suggested she would go into the Sciences branch of Starfleet, but she wanted to take a more active role in the fight. After some basic courses, her instructors realized she had a knack for piloting, mainly due to her naturally quick mind and heightened reflexes. She began to train on smaller craft, gradually learning to pilot larger and larger vessels.

Life at the Academy was not perfect however, and many of the cadets had averse reactions to Aristi that ranged from vague dislike to open hatred. Aristi tried to keep to herself, keeping her head down and working as hard as she could while trying to ignore the insults flung at her by some of the cadets. Unfortunately, a group of cadets had planned what they considered revenge, and they managed to jump her as she was leaving the mess hall one evening. Aristi defended herself as well as she could but the group was too large to fight off. They delivered several serious blows and in the process shattered her right eye socket, destroying the eye inside.

Aristi healed well enough and the eye was replaced with a glass one, but Aristi's confidence had been shaken. For a short time she thought about dropping out, but eventually vowed to herself not to be defeated by this one incident. She redoubled her efforts, working hard to adjust to seeing with only one eye. The rest of her Academy days progressed with only minor incident, and she again graduated near the top of her class.

However, by the time she graduated in 2376 the Dominion War had ended, taking away Aristi's original purpose for joining Starfleet. Instead of returning home to Scotland she accepted a position on the USS Prokofiev, still determined to prove herself. After some initial tension between herself and the rest of the crew, Aristi found herself fitting in, even becoming good friends with several crew members. In 2380, her glass eye was replaced with an ocular implant, greatly improving her vision and restoring some semblance of depth perception.

In 2381, Aristi was shuffled off the Prokofiev and onto the USS Galaxy in an attempt to replenish the Galaxy's shrinking Navigation department. She served as a flight control officer for two years until an unexpected death of a close family member changed her perspective on things. Her cousin Kyla "Kali" Ferguson, a starfighter pilot, lost her life in the Second Battle of Romulus. After receiving this news, Aristi somewhat impulsively transferred her Starfleet commission to the SFFC.

She fit in well in the Vanguards, and in 2385 received a promotion to Flight Officer. Shortly after, her younger cousin Siobhan "Shiva" Ferguson (and Kyla's younger, fraternal twin sister), transferred to the Vanguards. Naturally, Aristi quickly scooped her up as a wingman.

Aristi's first love has and always will be archaeology. She regularly checks the science journals for any new discoveries, and will discuss anything archaeological with anyone who is willing to listen. She is rather fascinated with Earth's ancient history and keeps several favorite history books in her quarters. She also has a few small artifacts from her dig in the Amazon several years prior. One of her favorite hobbies is using the holodeck to recreate ancient cities as they must have been, so she can walk through their streets and ponder what life there must really have been like.

Aristi is not to be considered a human in a Cardassian wrapper, though. Despite living in Terran society for all but seven years of her life, at the core she is still very Cardassian. She believes in unwavering loyalty to the State (in her case the Federation) and has never been known to question or disobey an order. She still holds the belief that family comes above all else; she holds her parents' opinions very highly and would be willing to die for them if needed. She has a very disciplined mind, methodical yet quick, and has sometimes given Betazoid counselors quite a headache during psychological evaluations. Her main senses are sub-par when compared with humans, but her reflexes are much faster. She also possesses the typical Cardassian resistance to most drugs: stimulants, depressants, narcotics and the like.